Art of Katana          

Katana Sword Parts and Information -:              

swords kingdom samurai The Katana is a curved, single-edged Japanese sword traditionally used by the samurai. Pronounced [kah-tah-nah] in the kun'yomi (Japanese reading) of the kanji, the word has been adopted as a loan word by the English language; as Japanese does not have separate plural and singular forms, both "katanas" and "katana" are considered acceptable plural forms in English.

In battle, katana was typically paired with the wakizashi or tanto, a similarly made but shorter sword. Both were worn by members of the Japanese warrior class. The two weapons together were called the daisho, and represented the social power and personal honor of the samurai.

 Katana with long blade was used for open combat, while the wakizashi or tanto with shorter blade was considered a side arm, more suited for stabbing and close quarters combat. Samurai may have used the shorter sword for decapitating beaten opponents when taking heads on the battlefield, and seppuku, a form of ritual suicide.

japanese sword parts

In Japanese, the scabbard for a katana is referred to as a saya, and the hand guard piece, often intricately designed as an individual work of art, is called the tsuba.

 Other aspects of the mountings (koshirae), such as the menuki (decorative grip swells), habaki (blade collar and scabbard wedge), fuchi and kashira (handle collar and cap), kozuka (small utility knife handle), kogai (decorative skewer-like implement), saya lacquer, and ito (professional handle wrap, also named emaki), received similar levels of artistry.

samurai sword blade

Each blade has a unique profile, mostly dependent on the smith and the construction method. The most prominent is the middle ridge, or shinogi. The shinogi can be placed near the back of the blade for a longer, sharper, and more fragile edge - or a more moderate shinogi near the center of the blade.

 The sword also has an exact tip shape, which is considered an extremely important characteristic. The tip can be long (okissaki), medium (chukissaki), short (kokissaki), or even hooked backwards (ikuri-okissaki). In addition, whether the front edge of the tip is more curved (fukura-tsuku) or (relatively) straight (fukura-kareru) is also important.

 The kissaki (point) is not a "chisel-like" point, nor is the Western knife interpretation of a "tanto point" found on true Japanese swords. A straight, linearly-sloped point has the advantage of being easy to grind, but it bears only a superficial similarity to traditional Japanese kissaki.

 Kissaki have a curved profile, and smooth three-dimensional curvature across their surface towards the edge - though they are bounded by a straight line called the yokote and have crisp definition at all their edges.

katana sword howto

A hole is drilled into the tang (nakago), called a mekugi-ana. It is used to anchor the blade using a mekugi, a small bamboo pin that is inserted into another cavity in the tsuka and through the mekugi-ana, thus restricting the blade from slipping out. To remove the tsuka one removes the mekugi. The sword smith's signature (mei) is placed on the nakago.

Some marks on the blade are purely aesthetic. Signatures and dedications written in kanji and engravings depicting gods, dragons, or other acceptable beings, called horimono.

Some are more practical. The presence of a "blood groove" or HI (also known as "fuller") does not actually allow blood to flow more freely from cuts made with the sword. There is no difference in ease of withdrawing a blade from the saya, or a reduction of the sucking sound, which many people believe was the reason for including this feature on commando knives in World War II.

Instead, the purpose is to lighten and strengthen the sword blade. The grooves are consistent in structure to an I beam, lessening the weight of the sword yet keeping structural integrity and strength. The basic design principle is that bending causes more stress in material near the edge or back of the blade than material in the middle, due to leverage. Blood grooves remove material from near this neutral axis, which is closer to the blade's spine if one edge is sharpened. This yields stiffer blades of a given weight, or lighter blades of a given stiffness.

Furthermore the grooves (always done on both sides of the blade) make a whistling sound when the sword is swung (the tachikaze). If the swordsman hears one whistle when swinging a grooved katana then that means that just one groove is making the whistle. Two whistles means that both the edge of the blade and a groove are making a whistle, and three whistles together (the blade edge and both grooves) would tell the swordsman that his blade is perfectly angled with the direction of the cut.

Samurai History -:

A history of the Samurai must begin with the most important aspect of a Samurai: Bushido. Knowing about Bushido is how one knows the Samurai warrior. "Bushi" is translated as "Warrior" and "do" is translated as "the way". Thus Bushido means "the Samurai way of life". Bushido consisted of a rigid code of ethics that was to be followed devoutly with bravery, honor and loyalty as the most important aspects . The most revered Bushido tenet was "freedom from fear". A Samurai was to live every moment with no fear of death, thus giving them the freedom to follow the Bushido code without hesitation and without fail. This philosophy was to be held sacred, even if one had to sacrifice one's life to pursue these ideals.

The elite Samurai warrior trained for many years in the art "Bujutsu". The Samurai were experts in a wide variety of combat skills including ground fighting, fighting unarmed, fighting with arms and fighting from horseback. Early Samurai used bow and arrows, and swords. Later Samurai used swords, spears and naginata (halberds). Samurai often named their swords, in a dedication of devotion. They believed that their warrior spirit was contained within their swords. They dedicated their lives to the combat arts of Bujutsu.

The Samurai wore two swords, a wakizashi and a katana. Their swords were made by master sword smiths and quality tested on the corpses of criminals.

The Samurai culture rose from the ongoing wars over land among the Minamoto, Fujiwara and Taira clans. Though the Samurai originated from regional groups of ancient warriors, they quickly lost their provincial ways. They developed a unique, sophisticated culture that was renowned for stoicism, honor and military expertise during the Kamakura period (1192-1333).

According to William Scott Wilson in his book "ideals of the Samurai": "The warriors in the Heike Monogatari served as models for the educated warriors of later generations, and the ideals depicted by them were not assumed to be beyond reach. Rather, these ideals were vigorously pursued in the upper echelons of warrior society and recommended as the proper form of the Japanese man of arms. With the Heike Monogatari, the image of the Japanese warrior in literature came to its full maturity." Wilson then translates the writings of several warriors who mention the Heike Monogatari as an example for their men to follow.

During the Muromachi period (1338-1573), Samurai culture created the idea of artist-warrior. Samurai training began to include the ritualized tea ceremony and flower arranging to add refinement and balance to the warrior persona. The code of Bushido became formalized.

The Samurai were considered the aristocratic warrior class of Japan. The peak of the Samurai era was in 12th century Japan where they enjoyed the benefits of belonging to a unique, privileged class. The Samurai were able to wear their swords freely and had the right to kill any peasant who offended them.

The downfall of the Samurai began during the Edo period (1603-1867). Two hundred and fifty years of peace had made the Samurai archaic: they were allowed to wear their swords, but had to accept non-warrior jobs to survive. The booming economy during this time of peace further excluded the ascetic principles of the Samurai, as most Japanese citizens were enjoying the new luxuries that accompany economic prosperity.

The gradual decline of the Samurai continued until the last Shogun resigned during the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Dissatisfied Samurai had led the revolt against the shogun, but the new government abolished feudalism and betrayed the Samurai by stripping them of all their privileges in 1871. Thus ended the era of the Samurai.

The history and philosophy of the Samurai lives on in the form of the Samurai sword, which has become a much sought after symbol of this historic and heroic bygone era.

Samurai Terms

Batto-jutsu

        A sword-drawing art that includes cutting rolled straw targets

Bo-jutsu

        Staff fighting

Budo

        Martial or Fighting Arts

Bushido

        The Way of the Warrior

Chokuto

        Straight sword used in Japan's early history

Daimyo

        Feudal landowner

Daisho

        Samurai's two swords (one long - katana, one short - wakizashi)

Edo Period

        1600 - 1867 when Tokugawa government ruled Japan

Giri

        Samurai's duty

Gunpai

        War fan

Hakama

        Divided skirt-pants Samurai wore

Heian Period

        782 - 1184 when Japan's capital was located in Kyoto

Iai-jutsu

        Art of Drawing the Sword

Kamakura Period

        1185 - 1332 when the capital of Japan was in Kamakura. Known as the "golden age" of the Japanese sword.

Kampaku

        Regent

Katana

        Long sword

Ken

        Sword - refers specifically to an ancient, two-edge sword made before the ninth century

Ken-jutsu

        Art of the Sword

Koto

        Swords made before the Edo Period

Kyo-jutsu

        Bow and arrow fighting

Kyuba no michi

        The Way of the Horse and Bow

Kyu-jutsu

        Japanese archery

Mei

        Name of a sword

Momoyana Period

        1573 - 1599 when Samurai began wearing daisho. Also beginning of the Shinto (new sword) period.

Mon

        Family crest worn on montsuki

Montsuki

        Kimono top Japanese wore at formal occasions

Muramasa

        Sword maker

Muromachi Period   -  1392 - 1572 when constant civil wars greatly increased the production of swords.

Musha-shugyo

        Warrior pilgrimage

Naginata

        Long pole with curved blade on one end

Naginata-jutsu

        Way of the Naginata

Nambokucho Period

        1333 - 1391 when two emperors were vying for power in Japan

No-dachi

        Long sword

Ronin

        Master-less Samurai

Ryu

        Particular school or style of martial arts

Samurai

        Member of the warrior class

Sensei

        Teacher

Seppuku

        Ritual suicide

Shin Shinto

        "New New Sword" - any sword made after Meiji Restoration (1870)

Shinto

        "New Sword" - any sword made between 1596 and 1870

Shogun

        Barbarian subduing General (war lord)

So-jutsu

        Spear fighting

Sohei

        Warrior monks

Tachi

        Long, deeply curved sword that mounted Samurai used in ancient Japan

Uchigatana

        "Inside sword" - a term for the longer of two swords Samurai wore

Wakizashi

        Short sword

Zanshin

        Samurai's sensing danger